PHOTO: FILE
The authority shut down some six stands and seized hoardings and ticket booths.
The operation was done under the supervision of Secretary RTA, Khalid Yamin Satti which was assisted by the anti-encroachment department of the municipal administration and traffic police.
Yamin Satti said the action against illicit bus stands would continue in the future as well.
Although the authority is seen taking action against bus stands, it has failed to implement official fares.
The Regional Transport Authority (RTA) has failed to stop over pricing as well as over loading in public transport vehicles.
The transporters have jacked up the fares on all routes whereas the authority has taken no action against it.
Quarrels over the fares between the passengers and transporters have become a routine practice when passengers demand the fare list. Transporters have said that the administration has silently allowed them to increase fares after the hike in petroleum prices.
The fares of intercity rickshaws and wagons have been increased by Rs2 while the long route transporters have increased the fares up to Rs20. The passengers complained that the transporters charge additional fares for loading heavy luggage.
Different transporters said that the fares were increased after continuous increase in petroleum prices for one year.
Commute to IIA
The RTA and district administration have failed to launch a transport service from Rawalpindi city to Islamabad International Airport (IIA).
The RTA had to launch this service within three months from the day the airport became operational however the service has not commenced even after one year.
Owing to this, around one thousand employees at the airport, who hailed from Rawalpindi, are compelled to get themselves looted by the transporters.
The private transporters have been noted to charge up to Rs300 from Rawalpindi city to IIA. Not only this, the fare rate shoots up to Rs400 after sunset.
The fare keep on increasing with the hours as the passengers are charged up to Rs700 after 9pm while after midnight, it soars up to as much as Rs1,000.
The employees are irritated to pay some 25% salaries in fares. The administration had provided a pick and drop service to the employees for three months after IIA became functional however the contract ended and no new substitute was arranged by the administration.
Further, the passengers landing at the airport from other cities including Karachi, Lahore etc have to wait till sunrise to reach Rawalpindi in cheaper rates.
Well-placed sources in RTA told that only a single company named Faisal Mover, showed interest in the tender of the service from Rawalpindi to IIA however it was not awarded the contract due to expensive fares. He told no new transporters have showed interest after it.
The passengers accused that it all was the collusion of the transport mafia and suggested that the issues could be resolved by starting a route from Rawat and Saddar IIA.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 28th, 2019.
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